Mew Hollyleaf
by Tapix
Summary: *SPOILERS FOR THE END OF WARRIORS: POWER OF THREE: SUNRISE!* What happens when a Warriors fan is devastated and gets fused with her favorite warrior? Click here!
1. Grief for Hollyleaf

Me: Hiya! My name is Tapix, AKA Jaywing. (I will use my warrior name later in the story, so you know…)

Pai: …Why am I here again?

Me: You have to do the disclaimer!!!

Pai: …AGAIN?!?! But I _always _do it…

Me: Yeah, that's because I luv ya! 3

Pai: …Sigh. Tapix/Jaywing does NOT own Tokyo Mew Mew, Warriors, or any of their characters and aspects. She does own –

Kish: -- her names, her story, her notebook in which she writes her stories, blah blah BLAH blah blah blah, and you. There.

Pai: She does NOT own me!!!!

Me: Awww you know that you want me to though, right? RIGHT?!?!

; )

* * *

MEW HOLLYLEAF

Chapter 1: Grief for Hollyleaf (No pun intended)

(I don't own the passage from Sunrise or Sunrise itself…)

"There was a patter of paws as she (Hollyleaf) turned and fled down the tunnel. Running forward, Jayfeather could hear the running of the river underground, pounding hungrily against the stone.

"'Hollyleaf, no!' he yowled. 'We can figure this out together –' A deafening rumble interrupted him; it went on and on. He pictured wet soil and rock raining down as the tunnel collapsed, crashing onto his sister, knocking her to the floor, crushing her, burying her…

"He darted forward. _'Hollyleaf!'_

"Lionblaze charged into him, knocking him off his paws and pinning him down; Jayfeather writhed furiously underneath him. 'Let me up!' he screeched. 'We have to get her out!'

"'We can't help her,' Lionblaze growled. 'The tunnel has collapsed. There's no way we can follow her in.'

"Jayfeather lay still, panting, as the tumult of falling earth and stones died away. In the silence, Lionblaze stepped back and let him clamber to his paws. Hollyleaf had seen the tunnels as a way to escape her Clan and everything that had gone wrong. Except she hadn't escaped – not in the way she wanted.

"'It's over,' Lionblaze meowed, his voice shaking."

(~Page 314 of Warriors: Power of Three: Sunrise)

"No," Pepper cried. She just couldn't compute this… this… tragedy! "No!" she shrieked, more loudly this time. Tears of grief fell from her forest-green eyes and onto the page of her book, which happened to be Warriors: Power of Three: Sunrise (again, me no owny). Not even bothering to keep reading, Pepper slammed her book closed and bolted out of her room.

Racing down the stairs blindly, Pepper wailed, "Hollyleaf, no! You can't be dead!" Completely ignoring her parents' frantic yells of "Come back!", Pepper burst out of the front door of her house and ran down the street, tears blurring her sight.

Not even paying attention to where she was going, Pepper ran. She ran until she panted with exhaustion, and then ran some more. She ran, with the cold winter air burning her lungs and whipping into her eyes, making them water with pain as well as sorrow. She ran forever, or so it seemed, until her legs and arms burned, her head ached, and her tears had run dry. Still, she kept moving, until at last, aching all over and delirious with pain, fear, and misery, she could not run any more.

Finding a large space under a holly bush, Pepper collapsed and crawled into it. _Seeping like a Clan cat, _she thought, which reminder her of Hollyleaf. Heck, the whole **bush **reminder her of Hollyleaf. Hollyleaf had been her favorite cat out of all others in the Warriors books. They had been so alike: same forest-green eyes, same black hair… Just remembering this made Pepper start to sob again. "Damn it, Hollyleaf," she sobbed. "Why did you have to die?" And so, she cried herself to sleep.

Pepper's dreams were bright and confusing. First, she saw Hollyleaf running from Jayfeather and Lionblaze, then suddenly, she was Hollyleaf. Grief, fear, and anger soursed through her as her furry, black paws took her through a familiar forest that Pepper had never seen before.

Pepper/Hollyleaf ran until she had reached an abandoned fox den, which she stopped right outside of. Turning around, she spoke to Jayfeather and Lionblaze, but instead of saying the words from the book, Pepper/Hollyleaf hissed, "Don't try to follow me. StarClan has a job for me to do…" With that, she bolted down the fox hole and the dream changed.

Now, Pepper was soaring through the air (she was no longer Hollyleaf), not like a bird, but like someone was carrying her. She was in the arms of a dark man with purple-ish black hair black hair, pale skin, and a face covered in shadow. He looked down upon her (at least, his head was tilted in her direction), and a deep, smooth voice came from the shadows and spoke one word: _Sleep._ And that dream vanished, too.

Pepper suddenly saw a blinding flash of light in an all but dark dreamland. She found herself in a beautiful place, with trees in full leaf and bushes covered in blossoming flowers, ever though the outside world was a freezing land of deathly hell (also known as a "winter wonderland"). _This is like StarClan,_ she thought. Then Pepper realized that she was naked, but it didn't bother her much, for without clothes, she felt that she fit into this place. It was more natural.

There was a rustling in the bushes. Pepper stared warily at the place that had moved. And from it emerged…

"H-Hollyleaf!" Pepper exclaimed, for so it was (or seemed). The little black cat approached her confidently, as if the had delt with humans all her life – or death.

"Mrroww," Hollyleaf mewed at Pepper. Padding closer, she meowed again.

"Come her, beloved," Pepper murmured lovingly. Holding her arms out as if to embrace Hollyleaf, Pepper crouched to the ground.

Green eyes shining, Hollyleaf (if it really was her) padded even closer. When she was about a fox-length from Pepper's outstretched arms, Hollyleaf bunched her hind muscles, as if to spring.

"Wh… What are you doing, Hollyleaf?" Pepper asked hesitantly, starting to stand warily, afraid of what Hollyleaf might do.

Suddenly, Hollyleaf lept at Pepper, front paws stretched forward, claws unsheathed. Before Pepper could react, the little black-furred cat hit her squarely in the chest, knocking her back into the grass. But instead of clawing her to shreds, Hollyleaf melted into Pepper, surrounding the surprised human in an orb of white light.

_W-what? _Pepper thought. She had never had a dream like this before. The orb disappeared, and Pepper found herself floating once again in the inescapable darkness. Her body was filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling. _This is nice…_ she thought.

But her opinion change quickly. The warm feeling changed to a raging fire that seemed to eat away at her flesh. "Augh, help me!" she screamed, but the sound was lost to the shadows.

In addition to the burning, Peppers' body felt like it was going to be ripped in two. It was as if there were two horses pulling her in opposite directions (not a very pleasant thought). Shrieking in pain and fear, Pepper tried to hold herself together, with her right hand gripping her left shoulder and her left hand grabbing her right hip.

What Pepper did not realize was that her body was changing. It was shrinking, and black fur was starting to grow upon it. Pepper's already black hair started to shrink back into her skull until it was the length of the rapidly sprouting fu. Her ears elongated and grew upward, becoming the big, fluffy ears of a cat. From Pepper's lower back grew a long, back-furred tail, and her front and back feet became more angular, like those of a cat.

Just when Pepper thought that she was going to die from the pain, it ended as abruptly as it had come. The blackness pressed down upon her, but it was more comforting, more relaxing.

Out of nowhere a voice started calling to her. "Pepper… Wake up, Pepper…

Wake up…" The voice was the same one that had eminated from the dark man in her earlier dream. "Wake up… awaken…" The voice faded into the darkness, and slowly, Pepper aroused herself, free of her confusing dreams and the pain.

**Or so she thought.**

* * *

Me: Ahh, a cliffhanger! I just llooovve a good cliffie, right, Pai-kun? *Bats eyelashes*

Pai:…It brings a certain urge to read more, yes.

Me: Aww, lighten up once in a while!

Kish: *Is dying laughing*

Pai and Me: Aw, shut up, Kish…

; ) See ya soon!


	2. Nyaaaa! What happened to me!

Me: Yooooo, wazzup?

Pai: … No comment.

Me: Hmm… well, better than saying, "Use proper grammar," and all that crap.

Pai: …Mew Tapix does not own any aspects of Tokyo Mew Mew or Warriors.

Me: Yeahhhhh… just keep telling yourself that… *cough* I own him though *cough*

Kish: Very well disguised!!!! *claps sarcastically*

Me: …;)

MEW HOLLYLEAF

Chapter 2: Nyaaaaa!!!!! What happened to me?!

"Mmm," Pepper groaned as she awoke. Her body ached all over, inside and out. _What a disturbing dream,_ she thought. Sitting up and stretching her sore muscles, she gasped. "Well, this bush is much bigger than I remembered it!"

Then she noticed something. The bush – it wasn't holly! Looking closely, she saw bunches of red berries on the stems. They gave her a familiar yet confusing sense of foreboding… Pepper knew that holly berries were red, but not THIS red. Suddenly Pepper remembered, and jumped out of the bush, screaming.

"Deathberries!" Pepper yowled (yes, she yowled). As fast as her legs could carry her, she ran away from the bush – and smacked facefirst into a bright pink wall. No, not a wall… a café._ Wha --? This wasn't here earlier! Come to think of it, this place isn't familiar at all… _Pepper glanced around, trying to figure out where her legs had carried her last night.

She was in a park full of barren trees. The only man-made thing in the park besides paths was the pink café. _Why is this place so familiar to me?! _She wondered frantically.

Out of nowhere, a thought came to Pepper: _Why am I standing on all fours? _Pushing herself with her hands, she got to her feet, but fell over again. _I must be dizzy from lack of sleep… _She rubbed her eyes with her paws, trying to get the sleep out of them – wait… PAWS?!?!

Screeching in surprise, Pepper jumped about three feet into the air, and then landed by a puddle, perfectly balanced on all four paws. Spinning around, she found that she had black fur, a tail, and an overall cat body. _I must see myself fully! _She decided, looking into the puddle by her feet.

Pepper forced herself to look into the reflective water. A small black cat with forest green eyes looked back at her. What had happened to her? Then she remembered her strange dream last night. _So it _wasn't _a dream! _she thought.

What Pepper couldn't figure out was _how. _How had she merged with Hollyleaf? Something nagged in the back of Pepper's frantic brain. This had happened before in another story she liked to read… what was it…?

She gasped. Of course! _Tokyo Mew Mew! _It all made sense: The flash of light, the merging… the _pink café! _Café Mew Mew! That might explain why this place wasn't familiar… and that dream of flying! One of the aliens had taken her here! _But which one…? _Pepper wondered, blushing as she thought of Kish, Pai, or Tart carrying her as she slept.

"That's it!" she meowed firmly to no one in particular. "I'm going to Café Mew Mew and giving someone a piece of my mind!" With that, Pepper dashed away from the puddle, past the kanji'd sign outside of the gate to the building, and up to the door. When she reached it, Pepper unsheathed her claws and raked them down the wood of the door, gouging deep marks and making a horrible sound that was sure to get _someone's _attention. Then she waited.

She didn't have to wait long. Pepper could hear frantic footsteps behind the wood, and then it opened. A girl in blue had cracked the door open, and was peering out of it. Seeing the clawmarks on the overly pink door, the girl, who could only be Mint, exclaimed, "Oooh! You bad thing!" The bird girl unconsciously opened the door wider to get a better look at the damage.

Pepper saw her chance and took it. She bolted around Mint's legs and ran inside. Glancing around, Pepper saw who she was looking for. Quickly, she bounded up to the girl in red.

"Hello? Ichigo?" Pepper mewed loudly.

Ichigo looked down, startled. "How do you know my name?"

"I've read about you. But that's not the point." Pepper was getting impatient, fast. "I need to see –"

"Yo! Ichigo! Get back to work!" a male voice exclaimed behind Pepper.

_Ah! Just my luck! _She thought, elated. Turning around, her elation changed quickly to fury as she glanced upon his face – Ryou Shirogane (or as many people on fanfiction like to call him, Shirobaka).

"You!" Pepper yowled angrily. "I know you can understand me! Talk! What's happened to me?!"

"Ah, is this the new Mew?" Ryou said, bending over to get a better look at Pepper/Hollyleaf. "Why is she like this, I wonder?"

"I-I was about to ask you the same!" Pepper stammered. Sudden understanding dawned with apprehension on her face as she realized fully what he had said. "So… you didn't make me like this?"

"Nope." Ryou sounded sure of himself. "I most definitely injected you with the compatible DNA of a wild horse."

"N-nani?!" (What?!) So I'm not supposed to be fused with Hollyleaf?!" Pepper couldn't make sense of this. Why was she a cat when she was supposed to be a horse?!

"That… may be my doing." Yet another man had appeared behind Ryou. He had short purple hair arranged in a braid on one side of his face, which was pale and angular. His eyes were very sharp and colored a dark purple.

_He's familiar,_ Pepper thought. _Where else have I see him…?_

"Pai…" Ryou groaned. "What did you do?"

"I heard her last night," Pai said, completely ignoring Ryou. "She talked in her sleep. It was mostly about Hollyleaf."

_So _he_ carried me last night,_ Pepper realized, blushing harder than ever. _Wait… I _talk _in my _sleep?!

The eldest alien looked down at Pepper, and she looked away, her blush deepening through her fur. "So… I constructed this." He held up a small box. "I just attatched it to your Mew Beam, rerouted a few things, and… voila."

"R-really?" Ryou was incredulous. "You managed to reroute my system?" Suddenly, Ryou snapped back to the problem at hand. "So… how does she change back?"

"She doesn't," Pai said seriously. By this time, all of the Mews – Ichigo, Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, Zakuro, and Berry – were gathered around, along with Masaya, Kish, Tart, and Keiichiro.

"No!" Lettuce exclaimed, looking pleadingly at Pai. "That can't be!"

Uncharacteristically, Pai smiled – a tiny bit. "Well, not entirely true. She can be changed back –"

"Do you change her back like you do with Ichigo?" Kish asked rather enthusiastically, cutting Pai off. "I mean –"

Kish stopped when he noticed the death glare that Pai was giving him. "No," Pai growled coldly. "She must go out and discover her inner warrior. In short, she must live with the warrior cats as one of them."

"Whaatt?!" Pepper shrieked. Blushing suddenly, she wondered, _Why was Kish so… enthusiastic?_ "Wh… what do you –" She broke off as a thought occurred to her. "You… you know where the warriors… live?"

"Hai." (Yes.) Pai was back to being strictly emothionless. "After reading all of the existing Warriors books, I did some research and figured out where they actually live."

"W-wait, Pai-san…" Lettuce murmured confusedly. Her face was in a "Wakarimassen (I don't understand)" state. "You… read the Warriors books?"

"Hai," Pai said again. They are an interesting source of information… and entertainment."

Lettuce took a moment to think this through, and then said, "Cool." She edged slightly closer to him.

Jealousy flared through Pepper, making her unsheathe her claws, but she stopped herself. _Why am I jealous? _She wondered. Then, _Hmm… interesting._ She sheathed and unsheathed her claws experimentally. _Cool! I have control over my fingernails!_

Pepper was so absorbed with her new-found abilities that she had not noticed that the others had asked her a question. Only after Ichigo poked her sharply in the ribs did she snap back to reality. "Nani? (What?) What do you want?" Pepper spat angrily, upset that she was being distracted from her little reverie.

"I was just _saying_," Pai said monotonously, rolling his eyes, "that I can take you to the land of the Warriors." He paused for a moment, then added slyly, "It's the only way that you can be changed back."

"So…" Pepper had just thought of something. "How long are we talking? Days? Weeks?"

"Months, if not years." At Pepper's shocked look, Pai droned, "Isn't this what you've always wanted? To live as a warrior?"

"But – what about my parents?"

"Oh. I've constructed a hologram device to take care of that factor." Pai held up a small orb. "Completely three-dimensional, and it creates a very realistic and solid picture." Dropping the orb, it hit the ground with a _crack,_ and then created a life-like version of Pepper around itself. "Only if you look close can you see the pixels of the picture and the orb itself," Pai explained. Hopefully, no one looked too close. Hopefully.

The hologram waltzed out of the café and disappeared. "The device should now teleport itself to your house, where it will proceed to apologize for all you've done." Pai leered at Pepper. "I will take you to Clan territory, it you're ready." He held out an extra-large hand for Pepper's paw.

"Wait, Pai…" Lettuce had interrupted again.

"You're going to… take her?" Ichigo asked anxiously.

"Yeah, Pudding wants to keep her na no DA!" Pudding burst out excitedly. "Right, Tar-tar?"

"Pudding…" Tart sighed, a giant sweat drop sliding down his face.

"Anyone want cake?" Keiichiro put in.

"I think she should decide," Mint stated nonchalantly. "Right, onee-sama?"

"Hai," Zakuro answered indifferently, like it was all the same to her.

"Pepper thought for a moment. "I… think I'll go for it." Not only did she wish to return to her normal form, but she was eager to see real warriors in action.

"What did she say?" Masaya asked wonderingly of Ichigo.

"She says that she'll go," Berry blurted before anyone had the chance to answer. When everyone stared at her in astonishment, she blushed awkwardly and mumbled, "I'm part cat too…" Looking up, she stared, "I think it's weirder that the aliens speak cat tongue." ((MAJOR SUBJECT CHANGE!!!!!!!!))

Kish waved his hand dismissively and said matter-of-factly, "We aliens can pick up on any language after hearing it used behind our backs." He stared pointedly at Ichigo, who blushed self-consciously and looked away.

"Back to the point!" Pai growled. "So… let's go. He held his hand out farther this time.

"See ya," Pepper meowed, and she placed her paw in Pai's hand. Instantly, she was standing outside of a farm fence. _The horseplace,_ she realized. She took her paw from Pai's hand and trotted around, trying to get a handle on things. _So… there's the moorland, and beyond it is the forest… that's where I need to go!_

"I cannot travel any farther." Pepper jumped at the sound of Pai's voice; she had completely forgotten that he was still there ((Hollyleaf/Pepper has MAJOR ADHD)). "I have a certain presence that draws the cats to me, and they attack instantly. I try talking to them, but they don't listen."

Feeling about with her sharpened senses, Pepper found that Pai was right; even though she was at least twenty feet away, she could still sense him as if he was standing right next to her. His alien presence stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Maybe you could try ThunderClan instead of sticking around here," Pepper suggested, but Pai was alreDY SHAKING HIS HEAD.

"I'VE TRIED. It doesn't work." Looking across the long stretch of moorland, he whispered almost wistfully, "I wonder where…" He shook his head vigorously, as if to clear bad memories from his head, and then looked back at Pepper. "You'd better get going now. The others will worry about me if I don't get back soon..

He had said "others," but Pepper knew that he was really reffering to one person in particular: Lettuce. Once again, jealousy flared to life inside of Pepper. She controlled it quickly, however.

"All right," she meowed, and started off toward the moorland.

"Make sure to stay by the lake, H – Pepper!" Pai called after her. He watched her veer toward the lake, then he turned to teleport back. Before leaving, Pai murmured, "Good luck," and then disappeared.

Pepper was on her own now.

Me: Ooh, what's going on between Pepper and Pai?

Pai: Nothing! Absolutely nothing.

Me: How do you know? Hee hee hee…

R&R!!!!!


	3. To ThunderClan

**Jaywing: …Just read it. I do not own Warriors or Tokyo Mew Mew.**

* * *

Mew Hollyleaf

Chapter 3: To ThunderClan.

Everything was so confusing. Pepper had left her house, devastated, only to be kidnapped into Tokyo, fused with Hollyleaf and turned into a cat... and now she was slipping along WindClan territory in Britain! She made sure to keep by the lakeside, not wanting to cause a fight. The scents and sights were so fresh and new, and Pepper jumped as the cold lake water lapped against her paws.

Scenting around, Pepper darted from one clump of dry bracken to the next, making sure she wasn't seen. She smelled a patrol and scrambled under a bramble bush, praying to StarClan that they wouldn't find her. The patrol passed by without any sign of noticing her, and as they did so, Pepper picked out a few unfamiliar yet knowable pelts: a dark gray tom, obviously Crowfeather, a smaller gray, which must have been his son Breezepelt, and a young tabby she-cat with glinting blue eyes – Heathertail.

After the patrol had disappeared into the distance, Pepper raced off toward ThunderClan border, more eager than ever to get out of WindClan territory. She did not wish to fight, as inexperienced as she was, against very practiced warrior cats.

When she reached the stream that separated the two territories, Pepper waded in cautiously. She had never been much of a swimmer, even as a human. After going through all that she had, Pepper didn't wish to waste her life by drowning in the rushing water.

Once Pepper was on the opposite shore, she shook herself vigorously and started into the deeper forest. Padding past a scent marker, she stopped, an idea dawning on her. Walking up to the tree on which the marker had been laid, she rubbed her body along it until she ws thoroughly covered in the smell of trees and stone. "Better," she meowed approvingly as she smelled herself.

Along with the smell of ThunderClan (which also had a faint air of electricity about it), Pepper found that she, too, had a distinctive smell: one of holly berries and leaves, and beneath it all, a faint scent that she recognized as human (or Twoleg, as she now had to call them). And… something else… Pepper pushed her nose farther into her fur, drinking in the sweet scent, and finally, she scented it fully and gagged audibly.

"Cr-crowfood!" Pepper realized with disgust, speaking aloud. "I smell of… _death."_ But of course. It all made sense; Pepper had merged with a dead cat. "I hope I don't start rotting alive," she worried.

Then she remembered her present task. Putting her troublesome thoughts in the back of her mind, Pepper set off once more. Soon, she found a scent trail of a warrior patrol and started following it. The trail consisted of five different smells, one a bit more unsteady than the others. _Ah! This must be Jayfeather's trail! _When the uncoordinated traail split away from the others, Pepper went along it. She knew that it would probably be better to speak to a blind cat that could not fight well than four cats with much warrior training and experience.

Gradually the scent became stronger. Pepper kept walking steadily forward until she could see a gray cat crouched in the distance. The small form wasn't moving; for a second, Pepper feared that Jayfeather was dead. Then, he stirred, putting his head up and pricking his ears toward her.

"Who's there?" Jayfeather called grumpily. "Come out of the undergrowth; I can't smell you in there. When Pepper did not move, the medicine cat yowled, "Well, come on! Who are you?"

Pepper sucked in a breath and stepped out of the bush. _Play it cool,_ she told herself. "Hello, Jayfeather," she meowed calmly.

Jayfeather stood there, speechless. His nose quivered as he took in Pepper's scent, his ears swiveling at the sound of her voice, his sightless eyes staring straight at her, amazed. "H-hollyleaf?"

Pepper then realized that this must be like Jayfeather's sister coming back from the dead (which, technically, it was). Her heart wrenched with sorrow; she did not want to distinguish the hope in Jayfeather's voice, but she could not pretend that Hollyleaf was alive. Baring her teeth in a bittersweet smile, Pepper answered softly, "No. I'm sorry."

Jayfeather looked crestfallen. "No… she really is dead, then."

"I know. I loved her too." Pepper poured all of her grief into a low, mournful yowl, so quiet that only she and Jayfeather could hear.

The gray tom was surprised. "You… knew her?"

"Yes… well, not personally, but…" Pepper trailed off when she saw Jayfeather's confused face.

"How—"

"No time, Jayfeather." Pepper saw him jump at the use of his name. "I need to see Firestar."

Instantly, the medicine cat was guarded. "And why would a rogue like you want to see my leader?" he spat angrily.

Pepper was taken aback. "Rogue? I probably know more about your Clan than you do!"

It was Jayfeather's turn to be taken aback. "Wha—no, you don't…" he dropped off, looking aghast.

"Yeah. Read my mind, loud and clear!" Pepper crowed triumphantly, for while he had been refusing, she had been blaring secrets of the Clan at him, secrets only he would know.

"How… how do you know?" Jayfeather squeaked. "How do you know everything?" he hissed, more loudly.

"Jayfeather… calm dow—"

"How do you KNOW?" he exploded, fear-scent erupting around him, growing stronger byt the moment. Out of nowhere, he launched himself at Pepper, shrieking, "You're just like Sol!"

Pepper, however, was faster. Being fused with Hollyleaf had given her the skills of a warrior – and they had just flared to life. Ducking out of the way of Jayfeather's outstretched paws, she rolled over and sprang up into the air. Jayfeather skidded to a halt right underneath her body, which was still aloft. Quickly shifting her body weight in the air, Pepper brought herself down on top of the crazed tom, crushing the breath out of him and pinning him to the ground. "Now, you listen here," she hissed, fire in her eyes. "Bring me to your Clan and everything shall be explained." When he eyed her suspiciously from the forest floor, she sighed and added, "I promise."

"Fine," Jayfeather saighed, giving in. "Can I get up now?"

"Only if you don't try to attack me," Pepper growled. When Jayfeather promised not to, she got off of him.

"For someone who just got to the land of warriors," the gray tom meowed, "you seem to know a lot about fighting like one of us." He gazed at her suspiciously, though of course he could not truly see her.

"All in due time" was all the black she-cat would say in reply.

Jayfeather led her to the ThunderClan camp in silence. Pepper was unsure on his ability to find it, but then again, this was his territory and he would get angry if she said anything about his handicap. Pepper rightly chose to keep her jaw firmly clamped shut.

Soon, they had reached the camp. Jayfeather opened his mouth to announce Pepper's arrival, but instead got a mouthful of black fur as she swept her tail across his muzzle. "Let's see how long it takes them to notice me," she hissed, grinning cattily.

The gray tom started to protest, but stopped. It _would_ be funny to see exactly how unobservant his Clanmates really were. "Alright," he whispered maliciously, and he had to suppress a _mrrrow_ of laughter. This would be good.

Pepper stayed in camp, walking around like she owned the place. All the cats would just glance at her and nod hello, going on with their business as usual. Even Lionblaze, her own blood relative (Well, technically, it was true) did not look twice at the black she-cat. No one noticed anything until sundown, while she was eating fresh-kill. Leafpool had padded over to grab a piece of prey when she saw Pepper. Staring in astonishment, she whispered in a trembling voice, "Hollyleaf?"

Pepper looked up, shock etched in her face. "Ack! Jayfeather, I've been discovered!"

The medicine cat bounded over. "Ah, of course our mother would know…" he meowed.

By now, a crowd had gathered. "Who-? Hollyleaf! She's not dead!" Cinderheart and Lionblaze pushed their way to the front of the group. "Hollyleaf!" they yowled delightedly, Cinderheart's turning into more of a [fangirl] squeal.

"Sorry, but… no,: Pepper told them sadly. "I'll tell you who I am, but only if all cats are present. I only wish to tell the story once." Then she looked at Jayfeather and cracked a smile, yelling, "Hah! I've been here since sunhigh, and they've just now noticed! FAIL!"

"Ha!" Jayfeather echoed, purring in amusement. Pepper inwardly chuckled; it warmed her heart to see Jayfeather happy.

"Whaaaat? She's been here that long?" the crowd shouted.

"Yup, and you guys didn't know!" Pepper laughed. "But back to the point. I need a Clan meeting to be called, and now. Quickly." She stared fiercely around, waiting for contradiction and predictably finding none. Brambleclaw climbed up to the highledge and roused Firestar, who had been taking a well-deserved nap in the deep recesses of the cave. He informed the Clan leader on what happened, and Firestar did indeed call a meeting. Every cat available came and listened.

"We seem to have a visitor," Firestar stated, and nodded for Pepper to come up and speak.

"Greetings, ThunderClan." Cats gasped as they saw Pepper, who of course looked so remarkably like the cat that had supposedly died a moon ago. "You may call me Pepper. I have come here from a land far beyond the lake, farther than your old home, and possibly farther than the horizon of the sundrown place." She saw Squirrelflight look up in surprise. It must have seemed a long way for the ginger cat. Pepper watched her for a moment, then opened her mouth again, deciding to tell the complete truth and nothing but the truth…

**

* * *

Jaywing: *dies* I'm TIMES ONE HUNDRED sorry for the humongousaur delay! I had no idea it was that popular! **

**Hollyleaf: So what, if no one had reviewed you would have just not updated it?**

**Jaywing: …basically, yeah.**

**Hollyleaf: You are such a wanker.**

**Jaywing: Why thank you ^^,**

**Pepper: Read and review, please…**

**Hollyleaf: Bloody idiots… -_-'**

**(I HAS DECIDED. The Warrior cats MUST have a British accent of some sort about them. I mean, they live in England, for EFF's sake. DUH. And since Hollyleaf is awesome and stuff, she gets to use lots of British swear words/phrases! Yay!)**


End file.
